Book of Common Prayer
The whole Creation invoked to praise Jehovah.
[a]148 Praise ye Jehovah.
Praise ye Jehovah from the heavens:
Praise him in the heights.
2 Praise ye him, all his angels:
Praise ye him, all his host.
3 Praise ye him, sun and moon:
Praise him, all ye stars of light.
4 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens,
And ye waters that are above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the name of Jehovah;
For he commanded, and they were created.
6 He hath also established them for ever and ever:
He hath made a decree [b]which shall not pass away.
7 Praise Jehovah from the earth,
Ye sea-monsters, and all deeps;
8 Fire and hail, snow and vapor;
Stormy wind, fulfilling his word;
9 Mountains and all hills;
Fruitful trees and all cedars;
10 Beasts and all cattle;
Creeping things and flying birds;
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Princes and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and virgins;
Old men and children:
13 Let them praise the name of Jehovah;
For his name alone is exalted;
His glory is above the earth and the heavens.
14 And he hath lifted up [c]the horn of his people,
The praise of all his saints;
Even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him.
[d]Praise ye Jehovah.
Israel invoked to praise Jehovah.
[e]149 Praise ye Jehovah.
Sing unto Jehovah a new song,
And his praise in the assembly of the saints.
2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him:
Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
3 Let them praise his name in the dance:
Let them sing praises unto him with timbrel and harp.
4 For Jehovah taketh pleasure in his people:
He will beautify the meek with [f]salvation.
5 Let the saints exult in glory:
Let them sing for joy upon their beds.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their [g]mouth,
And a two-edged sword in their hand;
7 To execute vengeance upon the nations,
And punishments upon the peoples;
8 To bind their kings with chains,
And their nobles with fetters of iron;
9 To execute upon them the judgment written:
[h]This honor have all his saints.
[i]Praise ye Jehovah.
Call to praise God with musical instruments.
[j]150 Praise ye Jehovah.
Praise God in his sanctuary:
Praise him in the firmament of his power.
2 Praise him for his mighty acts:
Praise him according to his excellent greatness.
3 Praise him with trumpet sound:
Praise him with psaltery and harp.
4 Praise him with timbrel and dance:
Praise him with stringed instruments and pipe.
5 Praise him with loud cymbals:
Praise him with high sounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that hath breath praise [k]Jehovah.
[l]Praise ye Jehovah.
God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt.
114 When Israel went forth out of Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people of strange language;
2 Judah became his sanctuary,
Israel his dominion.
3 The sea saw it, and fled;
The Jordan was driven back.
4 The mountains skipped like rams,
The little hills like lambs.
5 What aileth thee, O thou sea, that thou fleest?
Thou Jordan, that thou turnest back?
6 Ye mountains, that ye skip like rams;
Ye little hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 Who turned the rock into a pool of water,
The flint into a fountain of waters.
Heathen idols contrasted with Jehovah.
115 Not unto us, O Jehovah, not unto us,
But unto thy name give glory,
For thy lovingkindness, and for thy truth’s sake.
2 Wherefore should the nations say,
Where is now their God?
3 But our God is in the heavens:
He hath done whatsoever he pleased.
4 Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
5 They have mouths, but they speak not;
Eyes have they, but they see not;
6 They have ears, but they hear not;
Noses have they, but they smell not;
7 They have hands, but they handle not;
Feet have they, but they walk not;
Neither speak they through their throat.
8 They that make them shall be like unto them;
Yea, every one that trusteth in them.
9 O Israel, trust thou in Jehovah:
He is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust ye in Jehovah:
He is their help and their shield.
11 Ye that fear Jehovah, trust in Jehovah:
He is their help and their shield.
12 Jehovah hath been mindful of us; he will bless us:
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will bless them that fear Jehovah,
Both small and great.
14 Jehovah increase you more and more,
You and your children.
15 Blessed are ye of Jehovah,
Who made heaven and earth.
16 The heavens are the heavens of Jehovah;
But the earth hath he given to the children of men.
17 The dead praise not [a]Jehovah,
Neither any that go down into silence;
18 But we will bless [b]Jehovah
From this time forth and for evermore.
[c]Praise ye Jehovah.
6 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and to them that are secure in the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come! 2 Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines: are they better than these kingdoms? or is their border greater than your border? 3 —ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the [a]seat of violence to come near; 4 that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; 5 that sing idle songs to the sound of the viol; that invent for themselves instruments of music, [b]like David; 6 that drink [c]wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
7 Therefore shall they now go captive with the first that go captive; and the revelry of them that stretched themselves shall pass away. 8 The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by himself, saith Jehovah, the God of hosts: I abhor the [d]excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces; therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein. 9 And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die. 10 And when a man’s [e]uncle shall take him up, even he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is in the innermost parts of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No; then shall he say, Hold thy peace; for we may not make mention of the name of Jehovah. 11 For, behold, Jehovah commandeth, and [f]the great house shall be smitten with breaches, and the little house with clefts.
12 Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? that ye have turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood; 13 ye that rejoice in a thing of nought, that say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength? 14 For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah, the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entrance of Hamath unto the brook of the Arabah.
5 which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God; to the end that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: 6 if so be that it is a righteous thing with God to recompense affliction to them that afflict you, 7 and to you that are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire, 8 rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the [a]gospel of our Lord Jesus: 9 who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at in all them that believed (because our testimony unto you was believed) in that day. 11 To which end we also pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfil every [b]desire of goodness and every work of faith, with power; 12 that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
57 Now Elisabeth’s time was fulfilled that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. 58 And her neighbors and her kinsfolk heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy towards her; and they rejoiced with her. 59 And it came to pass on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. 60 And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John. 61 And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. 62 And they made signs to his father, what he would have him called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all. 64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea. 66 And all that heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, What then shall this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,
68 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
For he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people,
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